You set goals. You work hard. Yet success seems to elude you while others seem to attract it effortlessly.
What's the difference?
Napoleon Hill spent 20 years studying over 500 of the most successful people in America from Andrew Carnegie to Thomas Edison to Henry Ford. His mission: figure out what separates those who achieve extraordinary success from those who struggle.
The result was Think and Grow Rich, published in 1937. It has sold over 100 million copies worldwide and remains one of the most influential success books ever written.
The title is misleading. This isn't just about growing rich financially. It's about achieving success in any area of life by understanding and applying specific principles.
I'm not summarizing all 13 principles. Instead, I'm sharing seven core ideas that fundamentally changed how I approach goals and more importantly, how I think about achievement itself.
These aren't quick tricks. They're deep principles about how your mind works and how to direct it toward what you want.
Why This Book Still Matters
Published in 1937, you might think Think and Grow Rich is outdated. Here's why it's not:
The principles Hill discovered aren't about specific business tactics or investment strategies. They're about human psychology, desire, faith and persistence, things that haven't changed in nearly 90 years.
The book emerged from the Great Depression. People were losing everything. Yet Hill's research showed that even in terrible economic conditions, certain people thrived while others struggled.
The difference wasn't luck, education, or connections. It was mindset and the application of specific mental principles.
These same principles work today whether you're building a business, advancing your career, or pursuing any meaningful goal.
Principle #1: Everything Starts With Burning Desire
Hill makes a crucial distinction: wanting something and having a burning desire for it are completely different.
Everyone wants to be successful. Few people actually achieve it. The difference is intensity of desire.
The story of Edwin Barnes:
Barnes wanted to work with Thomas Edison. Not for him with him as a partner. Barnes had no money, no education, no connections.
But he had a burning desire.
He rode a freight train to Edison's office and showed up looking like a mess. Somehow, he convinced Edison to give him a chance. For five years, Barnes worked low-paying jobs at Edison's company, waiting for his opportunity.
When Edison invented a dictating machine that nobody could sell, Barnes stepped up. He sold it so successfully that Edison made him a partner.
Why this matters:
Casual interest leads to casual effort. Burning desire leads to relentless action.
When you have a burning desire, obstacles become challenges to overcome, not reasons to quit. Failure becomes feedback, not a stop sign.
How to apply this:
Ask yourself: On a scale of 1-10, how badly do I want this goal?
If it's below an 8, you probably won't succeed because you'll quit when things get hard.
If it's an 8 or above, prove it. What have you sacrificed for this goal? What uncomfortable action have you taken this week?
Burning desire isn't a feeling it's demonstrated through action.
Write down your goal. Make it specific. Read it aloud twice daily morning and night with emotion. Feel it as if it's already true.
This might seem silly. Do it anyway. Your subconscious mind doesn't distinguish between reality and vivid imagination.
Principle #2: Faith Makes the Impossible Possible
Hill's definition of faith isn't religious. It's practical: complete confidence that you can achieve your goal.
Without faith, you'll sabotage yourself. You'll see obstacles as insurmountable. You'll quit at the first sign of difficulty.
With faith, you interpret setbacks as temporary. You find solutions instead of excuses. You persist when others quit.
The story of Hill's son:
Napoleon Hill's son Blair was born without ears. Doctors said he would never hear or speak.
Hill refused to accept it. Every day, he told his son stories designed to build one belief: "Your condition isn't a limitation it's an advantage."
For years, Hill didn't know how it could be an advantage. He just maintained unshakeable faith.
At 18, Blair received a specialized hearing device. For the first time, he heard clearly. Inspired by his father's faith, he went on to help thousands of deaf people through work with a hearing aid company.
Medical exams later showed there was no physical path for sound to reach Blair's brain. Yet he could hear.
Why this matters:
Your beliefs shape your actions. Your actions create your results.
If you believe something is impossible, you stop looking for solutions. If you believe it's possible, your brain finds ways.
How to apply this:
Stop waiting to believe until you have proof. Start acting as if success is inevitable.
Write down three pieces of evidence that you CAN succeed: past wins, skills you have, people who believe in you.
Read this list when doubt appears. Then take one action that someone who believes in themselves would take.
Faith isn't about feeling confident. It's about acting despite doubt.
Principle #3: Autosuggestion Programs Your Subconscious Mind
Your subconscious mind controls most of your behavior. It runs on autopilot based on beliefs planted there over years.
Good news: you can reprogram it through autosuggestion repeatedly feeding it new thoughts until they become beliefs.
How it works:
Your conscious mind is a filter. It decides what thoughts enter your subconscious. Once a thought reaches your subconscious, it becomes part of your operating system.
The problem: most people's subconscious is programmed for limitation, not success. Years of criticism, failure, and negative messages created those programs.
How to apply this:
Write down your goal statement. Include:
- Exactly what you want
- By when you'll achieve it
- What you'll give in return (the work you'll do)
Read this statement aloud twice daily morning and night. As you read it, visualize yourself already in possession of the goal. Feel the emotion of achievement.
This sounds too simple to work. That's why most people don't do it consistently. But Hill found this practice in every successful person he studied.
Practical methods:
- Phone wallpaper with your goal
- Daily reminders on your phone
- Sticky notes on your bathroom mirror
- Vision board in your bedroom
The key is repetition with emotion. Facts alone don't penetrate the subconscious. Facts mixed with emotion do.
Do this for 30 days and watch what happens. You'll start noticing opportunities you previously overlooked.
Principle #4: Specialized Knowledge Creates Wealth
General knowledge won't make you rich. Specialized knowledge will.
The story of Henry Ford:
A newspaper called Ford "an ignorant pacifist" because he left school at 15. They sued him. In court, lawyers bombarded him with academic questions to prove he was uneducated.
Finally, Ford pointed at the lawyer and said: "I have a row of electric push-buttons on my desk. By pushing the right button, I can summon people who can answer any question about my business. Why should I clutter my mind with general knowledge when I have people who can supply any knowledge I require?"
The courtroom went silent. Everyone realized this wasn't the answer of an ignorant man it was the answer of an educated one.
Why this matters:
Knowledge itself isn't power. It's only potential power. Knowledge becomes power when organized into specific plans and directed toward a specific goal.
Ford didn't know everything. He knew exactly what he needed to know about automobile manufacturing. Everything else, he delegated.
How to apply this:
Stop trying to know everything. Identify the 3-5 core skills that will make you valuable in your field.
Then go deep. Become an expert in those specific areas. Depth beats breadth when it comes to creating wealth and opportunity.
Want to build wealth? You don't need to understand every investment vehicle. Master index fund investing and real estate basics. That's enough.
Want to advance your career? Become deeply skilled in the specific areas your industry values most.
The world pays for specialized expertise, not general knowledge.
Principle #5: Imagination Turns Ideas Into Reality
Hill calls imagination "the workshop of the mind" where plans are created that lead to wealth.
There are two types:
Synthetic imagination: Arranging old concepts into new combinations. Most people use this most often.
Creative imagination: Creating something entirely new. This is rare but powerful.
The story of Coca-Cola:
In 1888, an old doctor sold a secret formula in a kettle to a drug clerk named Asa Candler for $500.
The doctor had a decent product. But Candler added one ingredient the doctor never thought of: imagination.
Candler imagined new ways to distribute and market the drink. Bright red banners. Coca-Cola painted barrels. The first-ever coupon for a free drink.
That imagination turned a $500 formula into a global empire worth billions.
How to apply this:
Start with synthetic imagination take ideas that work and adapt them to your situation. This is safer and easier for beginners.
As you gain experience, allow creative imagination to emerge. When you get a sudden inspiration or hunch, write it down immediately. These insights are rare and valuable.
The more you exercise your imagination, the stronger it becomes. Set aside time to brainstorm without judgment. Ask "what if?" questions. Combine unrelated ideas.
Most breakthrough ideas come from imaginatively combining existing concepts in new ways.
Principle #6: Organized Planning Transforms Desire Into Action
Desire without a plan is just a wish. Plans without organization fail.
Hill found that successful people don't just plan they plan systematically with others.
The Mastermind principle:
No one succeeds alone. Hill observed that every successful person surrounded themselves with a group of advisors and collaborators.
Andrew Carnegie knew nothing about the technical aspects of steel manufacturing. He succeeded by assembling a team of specialists and coordinating their efforts.
How to apply this:
Create a mastermind group:
- Find 3-5 people who are where you want to be or working toward similar goals
- Determine what you offer them in return for their help
- Meet regularly (at least twice monthly)
- Share plans, get feedback, hold each other accountable
When plans fail (and they will), don't quit. Replace them with better plans.
Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before perfecting the light bulb. He said: "Temporary defeat should mean only one thing: the certain knowledge that there is something wrong with your plan."
Failed plans are feedback, not failures. Adjust and try again.
Principle #7: Persistence Separates Winners From Everyone Else
This might be the most important principle in the entire book.
The three-feet-from-gold story:
A man found gold and invested in expensive drilling equipment. Then the gold vein disappeared. After months of drilling with no results, he quit. He sold his equipment to a junk dealer for pennies.
The junk dealer hired an engineer. The engineer determined the gold vein was just three feet from where the first man stopped drilling.
The junk dealer became a millionaire. The first man learned a painful lesson: most people quit three feet from gold.
Why this matters:
Temporary defeat is not permanent failure. It's a test. Everyone faces this test. Winners persist through it. Losers use it as an excuse to quit.
Hill found that every successful person he studied failed multiple times before succeeding. The difference wasn't fewer failures it was refusing to quit.
How to apply this:
When you want to quit, ask yourself: "Am I getting feedback to adjust my approach, or am I just being impatient?"
Usually, it's impatience.
Create a "Never Miss Twice" rule for your habits. You can miss one day, but never two in a row. This maintains momentum and prevents one setback from becoming a pattern.
Remember: the darkest hour is often right before dawn. When resistance is strongest, you're often closest to breakthrough.
Persist through the test. That's where success lives.
What This Article Can't Give You
I've shared seven principles, but Think and Grow Rich contains 13 principles total, plus:
The complete 20-year research story behind the book. Dozens of specific examples and case studies. The detailed psychology behind each principle. The "Six Basic Fears" that hold people back. Advanced techniques for each principle. The complete formula for turning desire into reality.
Reading about these principles is useful. Studying the full book with all its stories and nuances makes them stick.
The book is dense with examples that illustrate exactly how these principles work in real situations. Hill doesn't just tell you what to do he shows you through story after story.
Should You Read Think and Grow Rich?
Read this book if:
- You're serious about achieving a specific goal
- You want to understand how successful people think
- You're willing to do daily mental work (not just read and forget)
- You can handle 1930s language and examples
- You're ready to challenge your current thinking
Skip this book if:
- You're looking for quick tactics or get-rich-quick schemes
- You're not willing to apply principles consistently
- You find the "mind power" concepts too abstract
- You're not open to changing your thinking patterns
The book has been criticized for being too focused on positive thinking without enough practical action. That's a fair criticism. The principles require both mindset work AND consistent action.
Some find the writing style dated. The examples are from the 1930s. But the psychology is timeless.
Get your copy of "Think and Grow Rich" today!